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Spring is Here

Oh, the joys of chirping birds and sunlight and the smell of flowers (no, really—go outside and smell them. They’re grand this time of year).

Yes, it’s spring, which means that you really do need to get out and make your home more, shall we say, viewer-friendly. Time to clean out the extra leaves that blew in over the winter. Time to lay down the weed killer, fertilize the lawn, repaint the shutters and for heaven’s sake, stop stalling already and actually use your flower boxes this year.

In fact, with quarantine still upon us, spring is the perfect time to pick out one thing you’ve put off doing outside and just do it already. Stuck? How about a mulched flower bed right out front?

Get a good amount of mulch delivered, if possible (buying it by the cubic yard is usually a lot more economical than bags). Pick a spot that gets plenty of sunlight (and eyeballs). If you have to clear some grass, use a flat spade and take your time cutting out the sod—that’s a big job. Then buy three times more flowers than you think you’ll plant and space them so they’ll crowd each other just a bit when they really get blooming. Use a good root starter to ensure they acclimate to the new soil well.

After you’ve planted, spread the mulch about 2 inches deep to ensure moisture retention and good appearance for the entire growing season. Then, make sure you water the new plants at least once a day to the point where you’ve really soaked the entire root base of every plant.

There, was that so hard? Now you’ve done something you haven’t gotten around to for years. And spring has barely started. You’re welcome.